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Bubble Wrap (brand)

Bubble Wrap (originally Air Cap)[1] is a trademarked brand of Sealed Air Corporation that includes numerous cushioning products made from bubble wrap.[2][3] The brand is produced by the Product Care division of Sealed Air.[4][5] Both the Bubble Wrap brand and product were introduced in 1960, with the launch of Sealed Air.[2] Although the brand was originally used for the packaging of IBM computers, Sealed Air now does most of its Bubble Wrap business in the food packaging industry.[6]

History

Bubble wrap was invented in 1957 by engineers Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes in Hawthorne, New Jersey. Fielding and Chavannes sealed two shower curtains together, creating a smattering of air bubbles, which they originally tried to sell as wallpaper.[6] When the product turned out to be unsuccessful as wallpaper, the team sold it as greenhouse insulation.[6]

Although Bubble Wrap was branded by Sealed Air Corporation (founded by Fielding and Chavannes) in 1960, it was not until a year later (1961) that its usefulness in protective usage was discovered.[7] As a packaging material, Bubble Wrap's first client was IBM, which used the product to protect the IBM 1401 computer during shipment.[6] Fielding and Chavannes were inducted into the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame in 1993.[7] Sealed Air celebrated Bubble Wrap's 50th birthday in January 2010.[8]

Uses

The Annual Bubble Wrap Competition For Young Inventors was hosted by Sealed Air from 2006 to 2008,[9] in which children were encouraged to design products made out of bubble wrap that had uses outside of the packaging industry.[9] Inventions included a "Bubble Wrap Car Door Cover", a "Bubble Wrap Cushy Wheelchair", and "Transformable Bubble Wrap Kite".[10]

Popping Bubble Wrap is sometimes used as stress-relief, and Sealed Air's corporate offices have "stress relief boxes" that are filled with Bubble Wrap for the employees to pop.[11][12]

Further reading

References

  1. Bubble Wrap Brand Cushioning Facts & Figures Sealed Air Corporation, retrieved 29 September 2010^
  2. Inflatable version of Bubble Wrap FoodProductionDaily.com, 22 May 2002, retrieved 28 September 2010^
  3. Sealed Air Selects 10 Semi-Finalists in Inaugural Bubble Wrap Competition for Young Inventors Business Wire, 18 December 2006, retrieved 29 September 2010^
  4. Form 10-K (2012) Securities and Exchange Commission, retrieved 21 November 2013^
  5. Michael Burke. Sealed Air CEO sees higher profits in next three years Journal Times, 16 October 2013^
  6. Monte Burke. Wrap Star Forbes, 5 August 2006, retrieved 28 September 2010^
  7. Don Fernandez. Betcha can't pop just one Toronto Star, 27 December 2004, retrieved 29 September 2010^
  8. Bubble Wrap celebrating its 50th birthday NBC News, 24 January 2010, retrieved 2 October 2010^
  9. Sealed Air Announces Fifteen Semi-Finalists in Third Annual Bubble Wrap Competition For Young Inventors – International Business Times - International Business Times, 24 November 2008, retrieved 2 October 2010^
  10. Chris Newmarker. Young inventors get creative in Bubble Wrap contest Spartanburg Herald-Journal, 25 November 2007, retrieved 2 October 2010^
  11. Don Fernandez. Bubble Wrap: A pop-culture sensation that packs endless pleasure Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 24 December 2004, retrieved 2 October 2010^
  12. William Loeffler. Bubble wrap is a pop-culture phenomenon Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 23 January 2009, retrieved 2 October 2010^